How do I send a Private Message?

[Claudia.Landivar]

What is the direct message equivalent in Community, and how do I use it?

Though public interactions do the most to promote an active Community and improve available knowledge, sometimes a private conversation is preferable. 

You can send and receive private messages with other Community members—including sharing posts, articles and threads. To access Private Messaging tools and features, you have to be signed in to the Community.

NOTE | Because any Community member can limit or opt out of private messaging, you may not be able to reach everyone using this method 

In this article…

• What happens when I receive a private message?
• How do I send a private message?
  …from the private message area | …from a profile pop-up  | ...from a profile page
  
  

What happens when I receive a private message?

When someone sends you a private message two kinds of automatic notifications are triggered: 

• On the navigation bar, the counter badge on the envelope icon will increment 
• Look out for an email notification in your inbox
  
  

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How do I send a private message?

You can send a private message within the Community in a few different ways:

• The private message area is accessed by clicking on the envelope icon on the navigation bar 
• A member’s profile pop-up, using the Send Message button
• A member’s profile page, using  the Send Message button

NOTE | You need to be signed in to your Community account to be able read and send private messages

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Send a message from the Community private message area

1. When signed in to Community, click the envelope icon on the top right side of the navigation bar to open the Private Messages area.
   
   
2. Click the New Message button on the left side of the screen. The Private Messages page will open.
   
   
3. Address and write your subject and message. 

TIP | Don’t use the “@” symbol in the Send To field. Just begin typing the recipient name and choose from the resulting list. 

NOTE| If one of the people you’re writing to has disabled their private messaging, their name will be removed from the field and they won’t receive a message

4. When you are finished, click the Send Message button.

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Send a private message from a profile pop-up’s Send Message button

1. Roll your cursor over the Community member’s name. Their profile pop-up will appear
   
   
2. Click the Send Message button. The Private Messages page will open.
   
   
3. In this method, the Send to field will be pre-populated with the name on the Profile pop-up.
   A message subject is required, as is the message body.
   
   
4. Once you complete your message, click the Send Message button.

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Send a private message from the profile page

1. From a fellow member's profile page, click the Send a message button

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